


The Best Gift

by silvvertongue



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky and Steve do gay stuff, Gay christmas, M/M, it's really cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 19:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13278009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvvertongue/pseuds/silvvertongue
Summary: Steve's got a surprise for Bucky.





	The Best Gift

2 Weeks before Christmas

The snow had fallen. Ice covered the streets. And traffic was as bad as it could have been for this time of year. Steve hated how busy the world had become, overflowing with people who brushed past him with no regard for his presence. In a sense, Steve just felt like he didn't fit in anymore.   
All of his friends were gone, his family. Granted he had made new friends, it just wasn't the same. 

Steve put his hands in his pockets and sighed, wishing he could get to his destination faster. If he could ride his motorcycle, he'd be there. But it was too chilly out for that. 

The rush of people around him got worse as he made his way to the shopping centers. It made Steve feel lonely for a moment. But the sight of the store's sign made him almost break out into a full on run. 

Steve did feel lonely here and there. He'd lost everyone. Everyone except for one. 

As he entered the shop, the girl behind the counter greeted him pleasantly. Steve appreciated her enthusiasm despite the busyness of the store. He began to look around at everything. It was all so overwhelming. There were so many options for so many occasions. It was all so bright. 

Steve question himself for a moment. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. 

He stood back from the glass and took a deep breath. 

This was supposedly the best store in town for this kind of thing. And Steve wouldn't be here if he didn't have some kind of plan. But, to be honest, this was the first time Steve had questioned his own judgement. Well, not necessarily the first time. But it was the first time that his anxiety had gotten the best of him. He wanted to turn and run away, cowering in fear. 

Steve breathed deeply and put his hands in his pockets again. He didn't know what he was afraid of. What was the worst that could happen? Steve wondered why he would even think that way. He should be hoping for the best outcome. 

It was then that he stepped back towards the counter. 

"Have you picked anything out?" The girl behind the counter smiled up at him through her brown hair. 

"Well, I'm a little lost," Steve admitted. The girl laughed and smiled again. She was very beautiful and Steve wondered if she had a boyfriend. She certainly should. 

"I can definitely help you out with that." She gestured to the selection beneath them in the case. "This is our best selection."

Steve looked down and smiled. "This is, uh... not exactly the... type I'm looking for." 

"Oh... Oh!" The girl exclaimed after a second. "Then let me show you the right ones!" Steve put his hand on his neck and followed the girl to a different section. When they got there, she pulled out a good portion of the case for Steve to look at. They were all nice and Steve felt overwhelmed again. 

"I don''t exactly know what I'm looking at," Steve admitted. The girl smiled. He was glad she was so attentive because he'd be lost otherwise. 

"Well, does he like more simplistic things? How does he dress typically? Flashy? Sophisticated?" Steve thought of Bucky and his simple t-shirts and jackets. 

"I would say pretty low-key," Steve said, looking over the row of rings. All of them had many different facets. It made him think of his new friends and how different they all were. They would all want something so different. Steve smirked. 

He continued looking until a ring, all the way in the back caught his eye. It was a simple black band with a stripe of silver down the middle. He picked it up and examined it for a moment, before asking, 

"Do you do engraving here?" 

1 week before Christmas

Steve was bad at wrapping. Really bad. He had a few different presents for everyone and so he'd spent the last two hours trying to figure out how to make his gifts look neatly wrapped and not like garbage. At least all the gifts were in boxes.

"What are you doing?" Steve jumped when Natasha walked in behind him. 

"Wrapping gifts," Steve answered, watching as she came towards the table. He sighed and looked over his bad wrapping job before letting out a laugh. "I'm terrible at it apparently."

Natasha cracked a smile as she looked over Steve's work. "I wouldn't say terrible." Steve was already anxious when she walked in, but Natasha had a good way of calming him down. She was weirdly good at that. 

"So, you're proposing to Barnes?" Steve's heart leapt out of his chest. So much for calming. 

"How did you know that?!" Natasha rolled her eyes. 

"C'mon Steve. You've been nervous as shit all week. And now this?" Natasha held up the ring box that Steve had stupidly left out in the open. He internally chastised himself before reaching out to grab it from her. But Natasha wouldn't let him off that easy and pulled away. "When?"

"That's none of your business," Steve said before finally reaching out and grabbing the box. 

"You know, if I was any softer, I might think it was cute." Steve laughed. 

"If I was any dumber, I'd think that's true." Natasha rolled her eyes, a smile still plastered onto her face. "Please don't say anything, Nat." Steve said after a moment as he fiddled with the ring box in his hands. 

"C'mon, Rogers. You know I'm good at secrets." Nat put a hand on his shoulder as she walked out. Steve's heart was still pounding as he looked down at the box. He could hear the door swing closed behind him this time, but he just had to look to make sure she was really gone. 

Steve was, in fact, going to propose to Bucky. He had no idea when, truth be told. But he knew he wanted to sometime soon. It was nerve wracking. Steve had no idea what Bucky would say. He knew that it might turn out to be a huge mistake granted that they had never talked about it. 

Steve popped open the ring box. The ring shined bright in the sunlight and the more he stared at it, the more confident he became. He started to imagine Bucky's reaction. Happiness, tears, hugging and kissing. This was the best outcome Steve could hope for. He smiled and held the ring close to his chest before looking out over the snow covered yard. 

Christmas

It wasn't terribly early, but early none the less. Bucky would be up soon, as would everyone else. Steve's anxiety was getting so much worse that it was robbing him of sleep. he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey." Steve nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Bucky's voice. Steve looked back over the couch to see his beloved rubbing sleep from his eyes, heading towards the kitchen. 

"Morning," Steve said half heartedly. Bucky raised an eyebrow at Steve's lackluster response, but continued to get coffee anyway. 

"Everything all right?" 

"I think we should open presents now," Steve blurted out. Bucky laughed. 

"You're like a kid on Christmas morning. At least let me get coffee." He began to prepare some coffee for himself. "You want some?"

Steve shook his head. If he drank anything, he might get sick, Steve was shocked at how nervous he was. For having been in some of the most dangerous situations on the planet, it was this that had his heart pounding and aching. 

It was no shorter than 10 minutes when Bucky came over and gave Steve a kiss on the cheek with a mug in his hands. 

"Why are you all clammy? Are you sick?" Bucky asked. Steve laughed, his anxiety bubbling up into his throat. 

"No," Steve blurted out before going to the tree and digging around for one of Bucky's gifts. Over the next hour or so, they exchanged presents. 

Steve had calmed slightly and was happy that no one had gotten up early enough so that they could have some privacy. When the floor was covered in wrapping paper and gifts piled high, Steve knew it was time. 

"Hey... I think there's another present back there," Steve pointed to the tree. "Can you go get it?"

Bucky looked at the tree, but shrugged. "I don't see anything." 

"It's right there!" Steve exclaimed, probably louder than he should of and pointed to the little box, propped up in the branches. 

Bucky laughed at Steve's excitement and got up to go grab it. "Oh, it's for me." Steve got up to go to Bucky. 

"Open it," Steve said quietly. Bucky gave him an inquisitive look before tearing the wrapping paper from the small box. 

"Steve... what is this?" When he looked back at Steve, Steve was on one knee, taking Bucky's hand into his. Bucky nearly fainted as his heart started pounding. Was this truly what he thought it was?

"Bucky..." Steve began, "I though tI'd lost everyone... everything. But then you came back." 

Bucky smiled, tears welling in his eyes. They had never discussed the idea, but the more Bucky watched as Steve explained just how important Bucky was to him, he could feel tears welling in his eyes.. It was heart wrenching the way Steve spoke about how he had lost everything. 

"Buck... when I thought I'd lost you, my heart was broken. I was lonely and... afraid. But you came back into my life. You came back..." Steve began to choke up and he squeezed Bucky's hand. "You have always been my number one, my partner, my best friend. And now that it's legal... I want to make it official." Bucky nodded, his throat tight as he held back tears. 

"I love you, Buck. I love you more than you could imagine. And I'm with you til-.."

"Until the end of the line," Bucky choked out, tears finally rolling down his face.

"Open the box, love," Steve said. Bucky opened it to see a beautiful ring. 

"Steve... I love it." Steve breathed a sigh of relief before standing. He took the ring box from Bucky and took the ring out. Gently, he took Bucky's hand and placed it on Bucky's ring finger. 

"I love you, " Steve said as he leaned his forehead against Bucky's. 

"I love you too, Steve." Their lips met again, their bodies melting into each other's embrace. Suddenly they pulled apart when they heard some commotion down the hall. 

"Finally!" Tony exclaimed as he walked in. "I want to open some gifts." Steve and Bucky looked at him confused. "How did you guys get out here? Did Nat forget to lock you in your rooms," Tony said sarcastically. 

Unceremoniously, Natasha appeared in the doorway. "Sorry, Stark, had to make sure you didn't get out here first." And then Steve realized Nat had locked everyone in their rooms to give them some privacy. Steve nodded at Nat and she smiled back at him before punching Tony in the arm as he was pouring coffee. 

It was then that they heard a crash down the hall and then another. 

"Whoever locked me in my room will suffer." Loki sauntered in and collapsed at the table.

"Good luck with that, Reindeer games," Nat said, sitting across from him. Loki rolled his eyes. 

Steve and Bucky looked at each other and smiled. Someone would notice eventually, but for now, it was nice to have this secret between them. Bucky leaned in and kissed Steve on the cheek, which made Steve go red. It was still new to Steve that they could show affection in front of others. 

The rest of the morning was filled with unwrapping gifts, hugs, and smiles between the team. As for Steve and Bucky, they were more in love than they had ever been and Steve knew he had made the right decision. 

Sometime later when Bucky was taking his ring off to wash his hands, he noticed something inside the ring. Picking it up, he realized there was an inscription. In the silver on the inside was engraved one simple line: "Until the end of the line."

"You would, Rogers." Bucky laughed to himself and wiped a tear from his eye. Until the end of the line, indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> So, so gay for Christmas.


End file.
